Day Treatment Info.!

I stayed up late last night (couldn't sleep anyway) and searched on line, read through school regulations, etc. First thing this morning I called to get info. on the day treatment program that is at the place where I had difficult child's MDE done last year. Here is the way they work...

The average stay is 4-6 months. Some kids are pretty much just severe behavior problems; not all, and they do have several that are bipolar. They have a psychiatrist on board to work on medications and have a lot of therapy- individual, group, art, music, etc. They run all year but the minimal school component is not there at all in July. They said if he came in the summer, we would need to address his IEP not having extended school year requirement. Basicly no insurance, including medicaid (which I need to get difficult child on), will cover the cost. It has to be initiated by the sd - they refer it to CSA (whatever that is) of the locality, and they determine if they will pay for it. It takes about a month or so, usually, to get them in once the sd makes a referral. I asked about difficult child's probable need to go to summer school and if he went to this program in the summer, would this keep him on track to progress to next grade next school year. He said they turn the grades over to the school and the regular school determines grade placement.

He, also, said the sd that difficult child is in has referred many students to their program because they just aren't equipped to deal with BiPolar (BP) issues. Oh, boy, did that make my blood boil. Last year they were trying to send my son to a school that was all "bad behavior" issues- kids throwing chairs acroos the room- no substantial diagnosis's like we see on this board- and the best one out of three that they had me look at had about a 20% success rate of the kid ever going back to a regular school (even if in Special Education classes). I went to the school in Aug. last summer and showed, in writing, difficult child's new diagnosis of BiPolar (BP), then the MDE evaluation that said they don't think it is true BiPolar (BP), but difficult child has mood cycling and needs to be on mood stabilizer until he learns skills and strategies for stressors, etc. Wouldn't you think the people at school- or at least ONE PERSON could have mentioned to me in all their conversations about how they can't/wont deal with these issues at their school, even if it is written in his IEP, that they can refer him to a treatment facility that will? That's ok, I think it will help my case.

Anyway, I called the ed. spec. from this place, who was on the MDE team and who also had accompanied me to one of difficult child's iep meetings in Jan to see what he thinks. He was in a hurry and told me to call him again Mon. morning when he can pull the file and we can discuss it. I want to ask him if he thinks this would be the right place for difficult child.

My main concerns are 1) since difficult child's number of violations has so drasticly reduced this school year, he doesn't meet their definition of "behavior problem" anymore. Great! However, when he "shuts down" at school or home, or becomes so overwhelmed with work sometimes to the point of crying and raging - he rips his work up and it never gets completed. Then, there are the few times that has has DONE the projects or homework and refuses to turn it in because, in his words, "it just isn't good enough" (sometimes- many times- he does the work and turns everything in normally). I thought this meant that according to IDEA, this fell into the category of a disorder that effects behavior that effects ability to learn. Well, the teachers give him zeros for all this lack of completed work. This is why he is failing so much this year- along with memory and processing issues that might be a part of medications but I'm not sure- he showed deficiencies in these areas on his testing before. The school says they don't help with this because he doesn't have a Learning Disability (LD). Anyway- I need to know how this place defines "behavior" and if they can help difficult child learn strategies and coping skills to deal with these emotions and cycles, rather than giving him a behavioral contract that just rewards and punishes what he is capable of doing now, without helping him learn how to be capable of more. Does that make sense?

And my second worry- if the sd is involved in getting this paid for, my gut tells me there is a catch. Like, how much control does this give the sd over difficult child and my lives for the rest of the time he is in this sd? Does this mean more pressure to sign any iep they stick in front of me in the future?

I think I will take a little time this weekend to see if I can find another local day treatment program that insurance will cover. In the meantime, any thoughts, suggestions, advice, pointers will be appreciated!!

by the way- Smallworld, you have kept me going this week! Thanks so much!!

I'll be checking back in but haven't been on much this evening- difficult child and I are spending some quality time together- (at least that is the plan LOL)

KLMNO,
I don't know that the sd would have much say once they recommended him but maybe they would. Our sd will not recommend anything like that due to costs. They set up their own alternative schools.

I spoke with the ed spec from MDE team today- this is also the place of the day treatment. He says he isn't sure difficult child needs this yet- that it sounds more like the sd isn't in compliance with the law. He offered to attend another iep meeting and help with fba and bip and help make sure it is written to help difficult child learn skills, not just reward and punish. He said this would be a necessary procedure to ensure best chances for sd to refer difficult child to day treatment and to help a due process case. He also, said if he was the parent going thru this, he would be extremely angry at this sd. I assured him that I am.

So, I emailed case amanger at school to ask for iep meeting and told him this ed spec would be there and that GAL and PO might also be there. I am thinking I should also contact Special Education attny and update him and see if he wants to be there, or at least find out what steps I should make sure are followed to help our case in due process, or to get them to refer difficult child to day treatment if he needs it.

K, I haven't been around all weekend so I am just reading this thread for the first time tonight. Glad to hear of all the progress you're making.

The day treatment program my daughter attended was based at the children's hospital in our area. The day treatment program my son attended was based at a psychiatric hospital in Northern Virginia (I think it's too far from where you live). Have you checked into children's hospitals or psychiatric hospitals in your area?

I'm trying to check on that type of day treatment, Smallworld. I have to cahnge our medication insurance due to my employer not paying it anymore (I had too much time off work because of all this). Anyway, the MDE was done at and the day treatment is at a university hospital that has a specialty area for kids with mood disorders. The head of it all is supposed to be an authority on this, although they have a different psychiatrist who deals with the students at the day treatment. So, on the one hand, it would be better to find a place that insurance paid for instead of sd. On the other hand, this place offers the most expertise and the ed spec seems to be willing to become an advocate for us. This place is listed in the well-known books for mood disorders/bipolar and they have not billed my insurance company or me one penny- I could be wrong, but that leaves me with the impression that they are giving us their best professional shot at helping.

First, I would definitely call the sped lawyer. Your SD is not in compliance! Your difficult child should qualify for the day treatment program under an ED diagnosis, so make sure that the IEP states that instead of OHI (which is where they place most of our difficult children). Your school district has to put your child into a learning situation in which he is actually learning. As a teacher I can understand the teachers giving your difficult child a zero on assignments that are not turned in. However, if he's considered SE, then it is there responsibility to find out why the assignments are not turned in and to make sure that he has the help he needs to complete the assignments in a timely manner. It sounds like this isn't being done.

It took me almost two years, but I did get my difficult child into a school that has a day treatment program attached to it. The SD pays for the tuition (it's a nonpublic school) and provides door to door transportation as well. This is the law per IDEA. We had to go through several schools and an expulsion before he got sent here, and the school district has agreed that in retrospect, the expulsion should never have occurred. But at least he's found a soft place to land, and is doing well.

You should also be aware that the school district will keep trying the least cost solution until it is clear that it isn't working, and that the Warrior Parents are pushing back. This particular school takes kids from two counties and several school districts, which is often the case in these types of schools. Keep pushing and you'll get there.

NEVER leave the Special Education attorney out of the loop. The only exception would be if you have proof the attorney is being rewarded by the school district for not pushing your difficult child's best interests.

I think you are doing a great job! I hope this IS a good program. The school can be reported to the state dept of ed and other places for being out of compliance. I would also do that. You might even take your story to the media, this school situation seems very abusive, just based on what you have experienced.